Running in Circles
by Orange Orange Employee
Summary: What if the S.H.I.E.L.D team picked up one other person, how would everyone react and would she adapt to them taking her in? Bad summary, please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

AN, my first story, any constructive criticism welcome. I don't own anyone or thing in this, except the OC. Enjoy

Heart pounding in her chest, she chucked a quick look behind her in search of her pursuers. Closing and opening her eyes slowly, she saw them running along either side of her inside the building. Doubling back she sprinted out into the open street before sprinting towards her apartment. Arriving a few minutes later after taking the most complicated route back to throw them off her scent she closed and opened her eyes again. Making sure to scan her surroundings before opening her door. Stripping, she hopped in the shower, letting the scalding water cascade down her body, wiping the stress of the day away. Relaxing slowly she washed the suds from her hair and stepped from the shower. A knock was heard from the door. Sighing she said, 'Just gimme a sec.'

The man waited patiently outside the door, alone and dressed impeccably in a suit and tie. She slowly got dressed and washed her face. The man was standing where the door would open to. Crashing through, she caught him off guard, hitting his head against the wall, with an ear splitting crack. Being only in his late 20's, he would survive. But at this stage he just sank to the floor. Blinking slowly, she saw that the front door the the complex was surrounded by two armed guards. Deciding against a direct approach, she ran up the six flights of stairs required to reach the roof. Hidden on the roof was a small bag packed with a set of clothes, a gun and a hundred dollars in cash. Along with a neat gadget. She flicked out either side and slid her gloves on. Placing the wire running from the roof of this building to the next into the gadget she threw herself over the edge of the roof, only being kept up by sheer force of will and strength. The wire had taken a long time to string up between the two buildings, however close they were. She was only glad that it had eventually come in handy. She let go of either side of the handlebars, and flew onto the roof. A forward roll as a landing broke the impact. Dusting herself off she quickly scanned the area. Seeing no-one below, she grabbed her handlebars and took the gloves off, walking slowly yet confidently down the stair of the building. As soon as she was outside she saw that the two guards downstairs had run up to check on the young man. She snickered and stuck a piece of paper to the wall saying, 'Catch me if you can ;)'.

She spent the next twelve hours walking through the city getting as far away as possible. It was then midday, and realizing almost a whole day had passed without her eating anything, she walked into the nearest cafe. It was retro in style, down to the uniforms worn by the servers. 'Coffee and two vegemite sandwiches please.' She ordered without looking at the menu. The waitress wrote it down and without saying anything, she walked away to get her order. Sitting in silence, being the only one in the cafe, she contemplated who was looking for her last night. They didn't look like the typical thugs that The Rising Tide sent. The sweet smell of coffee arrived and she smiled gratefully at the waitress before munching into a sandwich. Wolfing them down she started on her coffee, black, no sugar. After taking a sip, she heard the bells to the door ring softly. Blinking slowly, she saw that there were no weapons on him. He ordered a coffee at the counter, then made his way slowly over to her. She quickly glanced back at him and cursed herself silently. How could she have missed the S.H.I.E.L.D badge in his pocket. 'Agent Coulson.' She greeted.

'Impressive. Do you mind if I sit?'

'Actually, I was just leaving.'

'No you're not. You only just started your coffee.'

She started to rise until he said, 'I like Leonardo. Seems you are a fan.'

'It's a good movie.'

'Or is it your lifestyle?'

'If only life were as easy as in Catch Me if You Can.'

'So, you know my name what should I call you?' He smiled, 'Iris Jones? Diana Sutcliffe? Kathy Hall?'

'I go by Elizabeth Marks now.' His coffee arrived.

'Elizabeth, how would you like to come in to S.H.I.E.L.D?'

'You honestly think I'm going to go just like that?'

'Why not?' she rolled her eyes. 'Aren't you tired of running?'

'Aren't you tired of running around doing other people's dirty work?' He raised an eyebrow, 'Fury would just be sitting in his plush office chair right now, maybe on the phone to Stark, while you are out here talking to a nobody.'

'You consider yourself a nobody?'

'It's not like anyone knows me here.'

'All the more reason for you to come with us.'

'Us?'

'Yes. It seems you met Agent Ward already. Skye, she's the hacktivist. Mae, she flies the bus and FitzSimmons, biochem and engineering or something.' Elizabeth looked unimpressed. 'Usually people at least ask about a flying bus.' Rolling her eyes she gulped down the last of her coffee and rose, 'Thanks for the offer, but I'm going to leave now.'

'This isn't really an offer. I sort of have to bring you in.' Touching his ear he called 'Mae.' And a woman in black walked through the door. She took both Elizabeths hands and cuffed them in front of her. She snorted as she was escorted from the building, there was a gust of wind, pretending to flatten down her hair she discreetly pulled a bobby pin out and silently picked the lock. She kept the cuffs on for another ten steps while she saw that the left was less covered by S.H.I.E.L.D. When Coulson came up beside Mae and made a stupid comment, Mae looked at him. That's when Elizabeth made a break for it. She barely heard the cuffs clatter to the ground before Mae's lightning reflexes had put a bullet in her side. She clutched at her hip, taking short breaths, slowing down more and more eventually coming to a halt. She fell to the ground, trying to get back up, but ultimately failing. She felt her eyes flutter shut. Soon even her thoughts slowed down, the last one being, 'Next time I need to run quicker.' Before she fully stopped. Lying in the middle of the road in the foetal position.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN, still don't own any of it, except the OC. Thanks for the comments guys, i'll try to update as often as possible but this thing called school often gets in the way. Hope you enjoy :)**

Slowly opening her eyes she allowed time for them to adjust to the dark room. A camera in the corner was recording her every move. She bent her head down onto the desk where her hands were cuffed together. After picking the lock on her hands she bent down and started on the foot cuffs that surrounded her ankle. Suddenly the door opened. 'Agent Ward I presume. Sorry about your head.' She acknowledged smirking at him. He touched the white bandage wrapped around his skull with his free hand and grimaced.

'I see you let yourself out.' He said looking at the two pairs of handcuffs laying on the table.

'I don't like being cuffed.'

'Why did you run?'

'5, 4, 3, 2, 1.' She counted down as Coulson walked through the door. Ward lifted an eyebrow in confusion.

'You can go Agent, I'll take it from here.'

'Saved by the bell.' She laughed at Ward as he exited. After closing the door Coulson asked,

'I have to fill in a form about you, do you mind?'

'Would it change anything if I did?'

'Well, I could get the truth serum out, but I think that's unnecessary.'

'Is it multiple choice? I love multiple choice?'

'Full birth name?'

'Michelle Tyra Carter.'

'Date of birth?'

'24th October 1977.'

'Happy Birthday for yesterday.'

'Why thank-you.' She replied in a faux bow.

'Type of power?'

'I can see through stuff.'

'X-ray vision?'

'Sure.'

'When did it start?'

'Birth I guess.'

'Affiliation with The Rising Tide?'

'I hope they got the good photo of me for their wanted posters.'

'You've done jobs for them in the past?'

'Correct. Can I ask you a question?'

'I suppose.'

'What's the scar from?' She asked, indicating a line down her chest, over her heart.

'Stabbed by a Chitauri with a sceptre. You see through clothes?'

'Yes but don't look so worried. I'm not going to check you out.' He grimaced and touched his finger to his ear.

'I'll be right there. Here, fill out the form yourself,' he said, handing her a pen.

In half an hour Coulson came back into the room. Sitting on top of the desk she threw a paper airplane at Coulsons' face. Catching it mid flight, he opened it up to check everything was completed.

'Thanks for that.' He said, smiling.

'Can I come out now?'

'That might not be the best idea.'

'I know there was a theft. Looked like some maths problem. P vs NP right? The million dollar question. The one people devote their lives to.'

'You watched the brief.' She shrugged and walked towards Coulson. Smiling he got a large box from his pocket. Opening it, she saw a necklace.

'Jewelry? You shouldn't have.'

'It's not quite jewelry. It has a core processor that should disable your, vision. May I?' He offered, gesturing to her neck. She nodded, and taking the necklace, he brushed her hair to one side and clipped the ends. She gasped as a small charge ran through the device. And when she closed and opened her eyes, nothing happened.

Sighing she asked, 'What happens now?'

'Either you go back to living your life. Always running, but stopping to check in with us occasionally. Or, you stay with us. We train you, then you help us with cases.'

'Why would I want to help you?'

'What else do you have planned? You could keep selling information to The Rising Tide, but they want to kill you at the moment. And I'm sorry to bring it up but you have no family. You have a talent. Why not help people with it?'

'Just like they helped me? I've been living like this my whole life. I can't have friends, or family because people use them to get to me. That's why I started running. I've never been out of Australia because they track the flights. I just want a normal fucking life.' She said quietly as a lone tear ran down her face. 'If you think I'm going to work for the same people that stopped me from having that, you are dead wrong.' With that she walked back into the interrogation room and slammed the door behind her. Finally someone was brave enough to enter the room, 'I know that Coulson thinks his way is right all the time, but I know that's not true. But the truth is that this is the best option at the moment.' Elizabeth finally acknowledged the other woman in the room. 'I used to think I was on the right side, The Rising Tide. But last week, my friend in it did the wrong thing. He hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D and sold information. A million dollars and it killed a man. I know he didn't mean to. But I can't help but hope that by being on this side, I can save that person next time.'

'Cute. Did Coulson put you up to this?'

'No, well yes. But I meant it all.'

'What has S.H.I.E.L.D done for me so far? They took me away from my apartment, shot me, disabled my powers, and now expect me to join them?'

'Remember that if you do decide to join, it could save some other chick from all the shit you went through.' With that Skye walked out the door, leaving Elizabeth once again, alone.

'Can I see Coulson?' She asked of the camera. A few minutes later the man walked through the door to greet her.

'Fine. I'll stay. But only because you've taken everything away from me.'

'Lovely. Next time we stop at HQ we'll get them to make you a bunk. For now you can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch.' She looked confused as to why he would give it up so quickly, 'It's a really comfy couch.' He said grinning, 'By the way I'm your S.O.'

'Shitheaded Oaf?'

'No. Supervising Officer. And your boss.'

'Awesomesauce. Do I get the necklace off soon?'

'About that, not until Fitz and Simmons have a look at you. I don't want to find out that you can actually kill us with your mind.'

'Wouldn't that be a twist. Where's the food in this place?' Coulson led her to the kitchen where she spent the next few minutes aghast at the lack of 'quality' food.

'No Vegemite? How do you live like this. You're like cavemen.'

'Cave-people. It's less gender specific.'

'No Tim-tams? How do you drink your tea?'

'If you didn't know, you are the only Australian on the Bus. Meaning you are the only one with genetically weird taste buds.'

'Is this melted marshmallows? In a jar?' She was irate.

'Let's make you a PB&J sandwich then you can sleep off this anxiety.'

'Sure. But we're going shopping tomorrow. Even if you aren't on board with the whole Vegemite thing, I need clothes.'

'We?'

'Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you are planning on sending me alone.'

'I'll send Skye and Mae.'

'Yes, lovely girls.' She said mockingly. 'One shot me and the other really needs to work on her persuasion techniques.'

'It worked, didn't it?'

To that there was no answer only a fixed glare.

'Also, you'll have to wait for that trip. We arrive in DC tomorrow. For now you'll have to use the clothes supplied by S.H.I.E.L.D.'

'Am I helping on the mission?'

'Yes. Skye is hacking the systems right now, to get us a pass into the annual conference. Ward and Mae are working the bar, and the rest are in the van.'

'I presume I'll need a dress, shoes, jewelry and makeup. And bobby pins.'

'Skye looked at your purchase history, so she got you a dress and everything, in the right size and everything. It's quite nice.'

At this point she finished her sandwich and he walked her to his room. Grabbing his laptop he left for the couch.

'G'night Agent Coulson. And thanks for letting me tag along. I still have my reservations, but you seem ok.'

The Agent nodded, smiled and left the room. Elizabeth tried to claw at the back of the necklace, but to no avail, the ends seemingly had fused together. It wasn't long enough to simply slip over her head. Exasperated she gave up and stripped to bare essentials before clambering into Coulsons' bed. She didn't trust any of the agents, but would play into their plans for the time being.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN, this may seem like a filler, but I needed to establish some stuff. I promise it will get more exciting :) Surprisingly enough I still don't own it, and thanks for the reviews.  
**  
'Wake-up.'  
Elizabeth woke with a start, grabbing her pillow to aid in her defence. Seeing Coulson at the end of her bed she threw the pillow at him in exasperation.  
'Nice to see you got dressed up for the occasion. There's a real elegance there.'  
She pulled the blankets up around her neck to hide her less then modestly clad body.  
'What do you want?'  
'Get up and dressed and I'll meet you outside. Oh, and good morning Elizabeth.' He smiled.  
To that she threw the remaining pillow at his retreating form and groaned at the light being switched on from the doorway. Standing up she saw a set of clothes, long, black skins, and a black singlet, both stamped with the S.H.I.E.L.D logo. After pulling them on, she made the bed and walked out the door to meet Coulson.  
'Walk with me.'  
'Where are we going?'  
'The lab.'  
'To see Agent Fitzsimmons?'  
'Agents.' he emphasized the s, 'And they're just going to make sure your not dying, and that you're power is stable.'  
'Does that mean I get the necklace off?'  
'Maybe.'  
They arrived at the lab to see Agents Fitz and Simmons both working on a project on opposing sides of the room. Fitz was (again) playing with the calibrations of the 'Night Night' gun, and Simmons was looking at a bacterial enzyme of some description.  
'Here she is. Try not to kill her.' Coulson smiled.  
'The chances of that are quite improbable,' Simmons started,  
'Very small.'  
'But not impossible.'  
'Still in the room guys. Can you stop talking about the probability of me dying in the next hour?'  
'Right. Well nice to meet you Elizabeth.'  
'Who's who?'  
'I'm Fitz, she's Simmons.'  
'Ow, what are you doing?' she complained as Simmons took a blood sample.  
'Sorry. Sir, could you take the vision dismantlemebob off her please.'  
'For the last time it's a Dismantling Vision Device, or a DVD.'  
Coulson walked over and took it off while Fitz took her temperature and blood pressure. Blinking slowly, she felt herself relax as the world went black and blue. Returning to a normal state she saw a picture of a blob held in front of her.  
'What is it?' Simmons asked.  
'A bird, hang on, a plane. No, it's Iron Man.' She deadpanned.  
'Really?' she asked. Coulson snorted back a laugh in the corner.  
'Let's try the next one.'  
This continued for almost an hour until they came back with the verdict that she was perfectly healthy, except for a few bruises.

Again, she followed Coulson, this time down to the training rooms. He put her on the treadmill after she stretched. She set it to a comfortable speed and jogged peacefully, until Coulson took charge and sped it up by eight. She was now almost fully sprinting, but too stubborn to give up, she persevered. After ten minutes Coulson slowed it down to her starting speed, to warm her down.  
'Ever fired a gun before?'  
'Nope, never needed to.'  
'Okay, we'll get to that in a minute. Do you lift?'  
'Not usually.'  
'This'll be fun then.'  
He walked her over to a bench press and took off a few kilos from the weight he had done earlier that morning. He also shrugged off his jacket and loosened his tie.  
'My god. The next step might even be taking the tie off.' she said excitedly.  
'Don't get your hopes up.'  
She lay down with Coulson standing behind her ready to help out if needed. Grabbing the bar, she felt Coulson spread apart her hands and give her the right grip. She pushed up, but nothing moved. Trying again, she felt it slightly stir, but she gave up after a few seconds of not being able to move it. She heard Coulson chuckle behind her and say, 'Maybe we'll start off lighter, sorry, it's been a while since I've done this.'  
'And you can do this? You're not the bloody Hulk.' Sat up, her pride wounded. 'You try.'  
He sighed, saying, 'It's not a competition. But if it was, I'd win.' Taking off his tie, he rolled up his sleeves and lay down. Lifting the weight easily, he did five reps before putting it down, while Elizabeth rolled her eyes. He got up and took off another five kilos before giving Elizabeth another turn. This time she succeeded, but only just, and, being egged on by Coulson, did ten reps. After leaving her to box for a few minutes while he went upstairs to get them both a cup of coffee, he taught her how to use a gun. He placed it in her hands, teaching her how to dissemble and assemble it first. She figured out the difference between the safety and the magazine quickly. Or at least more so then Skye. Telling her the basics, he told her to look though the sight, only take safety off when you're ready to shoot and to hold you're breath when actually shooting. She followed his instructions, and ready to shoot, she missed the target completely. She was startled by the kickback however, and jumped back in surprise. He smiled and let her try again, this time before she shot, he put his arms around her shoulders and placed his hands strongly around hers. He said quietly in her ear, 'Don't be afraid of it. Only in a stupid persons hands is a gun dangerous.'  
'So why did they let you have one?'  
He leaned his head down more, to see through the sight to the target and holding his finger over hers he pulled the trigger with her. This time when the kickback set in, he was like a solid rock supporting her, not moving an inch. She looked at the target and low and behold, there was a hole in the paper, in the middle of the head. 'So that's why.' she smiled. At the end of the 'lesson' she could hit the paper by herself, not always in the outline of the body, but usually somewhere near it. Coulson looked at his watch and realised it was almost two o'clock. 'Alright, that's time. Go explore, meet some people, come to my office at four.' She agreed and had a shower before continuing on to see the crew.

She walked to the kitchen for a glass of water, and seeing Mae at the bar, she sat next to her. 'G'day. Just wanted to say thanks for the nice bullet shaped hole.' Mae looked at her, unresponsive. 'Okay.' She got up and moved again to the kitchen, getting the bread put she asked Mae, 'Sandwich?'  
'No.' was all the answer received before she walked away back to the pilots seat.  
'That means, no, but thanks for the offer in Maevian.' Skye sat down in the newly vacated seat. 'But I'll take you up on you're offer.' Elizabeth smiled gratefully. 'How was your first training session?'  
'Tiring.'  
'How is Coulson as an S.O?'  
'He's alright. He pushes me, but I'm not dead yet, so that's a good sign. He even took his tie off.'  
'You have got to be kidding. I've been living here two weeks and I was sure he slept in that suit.'  
'Well that I'm pretty sure he does.' She handed Skye the sandwich and smiled goodbye, walking to the lab.  
When she got there, Ward was sitting on the bench, getting the wound on his head checked out by Simmons.  
'Sorry about that.' she offered.  
'Sorry, you should be proud!' Fitz said, hi-fiving her as he walked past. Ward glared at them both as the exchange occurred, taking a sharp intake of breath as Simmons added some creamy orange paste to the wound. 'Stop being a sissy.' she criticized. Fitz walked over to Elizabeth. 'So you can see through anything?' he asked excitedly.  
'Test me.' she sighed. Pulling a pack of cards out of his back packet he held a card up backwards. She read out, 'Three of clubs. King of hearts. Ten of Spades.'  
'That's quite impressive.' He said, hardly able to contain himself.  
'Oh, you got a concussion.' she said, looking at Ward.  
'Really? I didn't notice.'  
'Is it really my fault I attacked some random guy that was standing outside my bathroom?'  
'I think it was kind of BAMFy.' Simmons added.  
'Queen of Diamonds Fitz.' she said exasperated.  
She left the room after that, to explore the Bus. She found a library, almost, it was a lone cabin with two bookshelves stacked with books, one wall being a window to the clouds. An avid reader, she picked out an unfamiliar book and read for almost an hour before going to Cousons' office.

'What's the plan, Stan?'  
'We're going in separately, when you find something, meet us at the bar. We'll all have earbuds, so we can hear you if you get in trouble. Just mingle, then do your thing.'  
'Why separately?'  
'If something happens to one of us, there is a chance they won't know there's another.'  
'So find the information before they show it to us, then meet at the bar.'  
'First round's on me.' He nodded in confirmation. He put a dress on the back of the chair and pointed her at the bathroom to get dressed and ready.

It was a black backless that cut mid thigh. Fitting perfectly, she paired it with the black, three inch heels that Coulson had given her, applied a smokey makeup, and met him outside. 'You look nice.' he told her when she walked out. 'Go see FitzSimmons for your earpiece.' By six, the whole team was briefed and ready for the mission. Stepping into a limousine alone, she was driven away, with Coulson following behind, in Lola.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN, quite a bit happens in this chapter. All will be explained, be patient :) Review please, they make my day. And I still don't own it.**

The party was glamorous, for a nerd convention. Grabbing a flute of champagne from a passing waiter, Elizabeth mingled with a few people before striking a conversation with a young man in a white tuxedo.  
'I know why you're here Kathy'  
'Why hello Richard.'  
'I'm here to offer you a deal. We give you a small cut of the funds, and we take you off the wanted list.'  
'For the maths problem?'  
'Why else would we be here?'  
'There's others here?'  
'Always. I assume you came to steal it today anyway. Why not save yourself the trouble of finding a buyer, and no one from The Rising Tide will ever come after you again.'  
'Finding a buyer was never a problem. And you assume correct.'  
'So you'll do it? You always were the best.'  
'Fine. I'll do it but if someone comes after me, you are a dead man.'

'Come to the bar guys.' They converged at the bar, Coulson with some news. 'It's on the third floor. The south-east room.'  
'Shall I check it out?'  
'Just go up and see how many people are there, Ward go with her so you can clear them out. Meet us here again if you have any issues or when you get it.'  
'Yessir.' she mock saluted.

There were two goons on the stairs up, which were dispatched simultaneously by Ward. 'You've got to teach me how to do that.' she said in awe  
'Do I?' was the gruff response.  
They walked up the stairs in silence stopping when they reached the door to the third floor.  
'How many are there?' he questioned.  
'Two on the other side of this door, then three on each door down the hall. There's six doors off the hall by the way.'  
Touching his ear he said, 'Mae, do you want to give us a hand?'  
'They're all armed by the way.'  
'Makes life interesting.' In a few minutes, Mae was standing next to them ready to go in.  
'Stay outside the fight please Elizabeth.' She heard Coulson say inside her ear.  
While the fight raged in front of her, she delicately picked her way around the edge, while everyone was focussed on Mae and Ward. She bent down near the door Coulson had specified and dug in her purse for a bobby pin. She quickly unlocked the door, but had another look inside the room before heading in. There was a tripwire just in front of the door, which if triggered, would set off lasers in the room. Seeing no other option, she was forced into opening it. She kept her vision on, because the lasers were invisible to the naked eye. This wasn't her first heist, so the lasers proved no problem as she cart wheeled across the floor to the glass cabinet on the other side of the room. The lasers finished two feet before the cabinet, meaning she just had to walk up to it. The hard drive was secured by an alarm system, and bolted down into the paneling. The alarms were only hooked up to the glass, and underneath was a wooden stand. She cracked into the stand with her switchblade, relieving it of a few panels before getting underneath the drive. She slowly began prying away a few of the panels beneath it until it fell down into her hands, still attached. She undid the screws and pocketed the now free drive, before doing a short gymnastics routine back to the doorway.

The floor was littered with enemy bodies and a few specks of blood. There was no sign of Mae or Ward. Walking confidently down the stairs, she went to the bar to meet up with Coulson. Not finding him there, she waited another fifteen minutes before realising something was up. Richard then approached her, 'Did you find it?'  
'Hang on, let me ask you something. Do you know everyone in The Rising Tide?'  
'God no. It's an international group.'  
'Who is giving the speech tonight?'  
'The mathematicians, Drew Goddard. His partner, Perry White, was also supposed to attend, but he's disappeared.'  
'Where is this Drew guy?'  
'How would I know?'  
'Can you give me another half hour, then I'll give it to you.'  
'Half an hour, I'll be counting.'

She hopped to the other side of the bar when Richard was thoroughly lost in the crowd. Sorting through all the bottles, she pushed them aside until she reached the back of the cabinet below the counter. A scribbled note there read,  
'1, 2 Follow it through,  
3, 4 Down on the floor,  
5, 6 Ward screams like Fitz,  
7, 8 Don't be late.'

'Is anyone there?' she asked through her earbud. Suddenly she heard Fitzs' whispered voice.  
'Come quickly, Drew is deranged.' Suddenly she heard a scream loud enough to burst her eardrum. Drew must have found out that the team had stolen the drive, and taken them all. There were two options, take the easy way out and give the drive to Richard, or to use it for leverage for the crew. Her decision was made when she heard another ear piercing shriek of pain.  
'I assume you can all hear me. I'm coming and I've got the device. Don't say anything about me to Drew. If anyone gets a chance, could you tell me how many guys there are? See you soon.' she said as cheerfully as she could manage. Looking again at the note, she used her vision on the ground. Seeing nothing underground, except dirt, she looked up and down the hallway behind the bar. she followed the hall, and it come out onto a small alleyway. She quickly followed it to the road, and seeing no guards in either direction, she was suddenly at a loss. Looking down at the other side of the road, she saw a slightly ajar storm drain. Realizing she had no other option, she quickly checked for more henchmen, and jumped down. With only a switchblade in her hand she silently cursed herself for not being more prepared. Silently creeping along the drain, with the pungent stench of decaying garbage and mould suffocating her, she walked until she heard voices.  
'When do we get out of this pit-hole?'  
'When Drew says we can. And I'll bet that's never. He always spends way to much time with the hostages.' The voices were getting closer. She saw that neither of them had a weapon.  
'Time? You can hear their screams from here, and why did he have to choose this pla...' Whipping around the corner, Elizabeth stabbed one of them directly in the neck with her blade, and kicked the other in the balls, then kneed him in the face, successfully knocking him out. She then dragged the bodies around the corner and out of sight. Continuing along the drain, she heard a scream. It was Simmons' voice she heard, begging for mercy. She had to stay strong, for their sake. She continued along, now with a fresh splatter of blood on her face. She was then at a junction, with a choice of either left or straight ahead. Taking a wild stab in the dark, she chose left. Looking around her, vision on, she saw a massive room, with two men standing guard at the opening archway and another six posted throughout the room. Drew was standing in the middle with Fitz. Fitz had a knife protruding from his right knee and his left middle finger was bent at an odd angle. If this was anything like the rest of the crew, she was going to have to do this alone. Picking up a pebble from the ground, she threw it down across the hall from her. After a few minutes, one of the guards came traipsing down the hall after the noise. She came up quickly behind him and putting her hand over his mouth, she quickly knocked his head against the wall. Emitting a sound louder then expected, she barely had time to hide before the next guard followed. She had the element of surprise both times, doing the same to both people. She then put the bodies around the corner, and took both their guns, making sure safety was on, she hooked them in the side of her dress before venturing closer to the doorway. There were now only seven people in the area. She quickly analyzed the situation, all of them were stationary, three goons were behind the team, who were in a horseshoe formation around the centre of the room. After a quick survey, she backed further into the tunnel and told them,  
'I'm here, just outside the doorway. I took out the two guards here, but I need your help. If you aren't dead, can one of you make a distraction?'  
She suddenly heard someone speaking, it was Ward, 'Why torture the wimp. It doesn't take much to hurt him. Why not take one of us, because then you bastards can scare the others into telling.'  
'What a great idea? Are you volunteering Agent Ward?' At this moment all eyes were focussed on Ward as he walked towards Drew, limping heavily. Elizabeth took this moment to strike. She closed the switchblade and threw it to Mae who caught it in her hands. Before cutting her legs loose, she threw her chair into the goon standing behind her. She cut into the man on her right and followed through with a bone shattering punch. At the same time Ward had kicked Drew in the gut, Mae through the knife to him and he cut through the twine that connected his wrists. Coulson was unconscious in his chair, with a trickle of blood running down his face. Elizabeth knocked out three of the guards around the wall and slid a gun along the ground to Ward, while Mae picked one up and shot the final man in the leg, and made sure that they were all unconscious. Ward was holding Drew down on the ground with a leg and pointing the gun at his back. Getting some leftover twine, Elizabeth handed it to Ward, who tied his hands together in a makeshift pair of cuffs. Mae walked over to Fitz, and pulled out the knife from his knee. Howling in pain, with tears running down his face, Fitz screamed. It reverberated throughout the whole drainage system. Elizabeth walked over to Coulson, who was still breathing, and cut him loose, lying him on the floor. He had less fingernails then he was used to, a scar that ran from his shoulder to his elbow and a multiple broken toes. Elizabeth felt a hot tear run down her face. Suddenly Coulsons' eyelids fluttered open, he tried to stand, but couldn't. After some time, they all regained consciousness enough to leave. Elizabeth let Coulson lean on her while Fitz and Skye helped each other walk, Mae carried an unconscious Simmons and Ward pushed Drew out of the drain.

'Your 30 minutes is up Kathy.' Richard thought to himself, 'We're coming for you.'


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N, So I realise it's been a while. Probably because I have eight and a half days of grade nine left this year. That means I have a lot of tests. I know that I was mis spelling May's name so I fixed that in this chapter and all ahead of it. I don't own any of it except Elizabeth. Ok, here you go :) (Reviews make my day *hint hint*)  
**

Elizabeth was in the S.H.I.E.L.D hospital. She was at Fitz's bedside, watching TV with him as he was the only one awake at that time. They had been in hospital for over a week, each with multiple injuries. She heard a groan coming from the next curtain down. She said goodbye to Fitz and walked over to Coulson's bed.  
'How are you doing Sir?'  
'How do you think?' he replied in a raspy voice, he was pale and bruised almost everywhere she could see.  
'Truthfully, you look like shit.' she laughed softly. He sat up in bed, laughing in reply. A throaty laugh, which concluded in a loud cough. He grabbed a glass of water from his bedside and finished it almost instantly.  
'You were good in there Elizabeth. Thank-you.'  
'What was I going to do? Let you die?' she realized that was an option she had chosen against, and instantly felt regret for it even crossing her mind.  
'Fury?' Coulson asked as a man appeared at the end of his bed.  
'So, you're still alive Agent?'  
'As you can see.'  
'Just wanted to bring you up to date on the case you stumbled upon. Drew was interrogated, and it seems he was on The Rising Tide, as were all the men he brought with him. He was looking for the drive that you obtained because it had the answer to the problem P vs NP on it, and he had spent the last ten years forcing Perry White to solve it. Perry was killed for the recognition and the cash that came with solving the problem.'  
'So it's all over?' Elizabeth asked,  
'Yes, no more murdering psychopaths, for the time being. Oh and Phil, try not to die again.' he said, striding back to his office.

Two weeks later.

'Elizabeth, can I see you in my office.' Coulson said as if asking a question, but really it was a demand. She walked in with a steaming cup of tea, shutting the door behind her, she sat across the desk from him. Taking a long sip, she held it in her hands while Coulson started the conversation.  
'How are you?'  
'Shouldn't I be asking you that?'  
'No, we got attention from doctors, you killed a guy, and you saved us all pretty single handedly. That comes with a price.'  
'Really, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me.'  
'But I want to. I mean, I need to know that my whole team is at the top of their game.'  
'Fine, you want to know how I feel about that night?' He nodded in response, 'I agreed to help Richard, my old friend from The Rising Tide. I was going to give the drive to him, where he would take my name from the wanted list and I would run away. Then life kinda got complicated. You were captured, I killed my first person, and I saw the strongest people I know hurt. You ruined my plan.'  
'I ruined it? I didn't do anything. I was asleep the whole time.' he smiled.  
'You were unconscious. There's a difference, and of course you fucking ruined it. I would have left if I didn't care about any of you.' She stormed out of the office and retreated into her new bunk, where she locked the door and lay stewing for a few hours.

It was almost 1:00 am when she heard the soft knock on her door. Seeing it was Coulson, she stood up and opened the door. Coulson invited her down to train with him, more of a friendly workout then the S.O. training a few weeks ago. Agreeing she walked down with him, arriving at the stairwell she felt his hand in the small of her back, guiding her forward. They arrived downstairs and set up some sparring mats. This had almost become a tradition, having done it to keep in shape over the weeks the team was supposed to be 'resting'. Coulson stripped of his shirt, leaving him in just a pair of shorts. Elizabeth took off her shirt, leaving her in just a sports bra and a pair of boxer shorts. They began, Elizabeth starting with a leg sweep, which Coulson jumped over easily, catching her leg he brought it up, dumping her down until she hit the back of his knees, where he collapsed onto them, dropping her leg. Quickly jumping to his feet, he turned to face her. The fight lasted half an hour before there was an actual winner. He grabbed her leg as it reached for his side, and twisting it up and over, he threw her over his head and she fell onto the ground. The momentum he carried made him fall face first on top of her, saving himself by planting two hands either side of her in a push-up position. She smiled up at him, but deftly twisted a leg around his and twisted them both over, swapping positions. Standing, she held out a hand and helped him up.  
'We have ground-time tomorrow by the way.'  
'Don't we get a new mission soon?'  
'Fury said in another week he'll have us all assessed, so we can start again.'  
'So what are you doing tomorrow?'  
'I'm going to see my family.'  
'Oh, you're married then?'  
'No, I meant I was going to see my sister. You're welcome to join us.'  
'I don't want to intrude.'  
'You'll be a welcome distraction really. She'll spend half the time telling me off anyway.'  
'Ok. I'll come. Thank-you Coulson.'

The good bit about the impromptu stop-over at S.H.I.E.L.D, was that Elizabeth finally had her own bunk. Though small, there was enough room for a small wall TV at the foot of her bed. As she left the gym, she went straight for the kitchen, getting herself a bottle of beer from the fridge and a bowl of popcorn. She locked the door to her room and began watching 'The X Files'. Her life had previously not warranted enough time to watch anything, but since Skye had offered up her whole collection, she thought it necessary to catch up with the rest of the world. By the end of the day she had nearly made it through the first season, but her stomach had been making whale noises, so dinner was in order. She got out the ingredients and began to make pasta, eventually dishing out seven plates worth. She walked up to the pilots seat and spoke into the microphone, 'Food in the kitchen if you want it.' By the time she was back, five of the plates had disappeared. She sat at the counter with a glass of water and ate the pasta alone. Coulson walked around and put a coster under her glass and took a plate, saying, 'Everyone's in the living room choosing a movie if you want to join us. There's bound to be a blood spilt.' Elizabeth smiled and took her plate, following Coulson.  
'No way. I am not watching a chick-flick.' Ward stated, forcefully,  
'It's not a chick-flick, it's a rom-com!' was Skye's response,  
'Is there a difference?' On the other side of the room, there was yet more shouting, this time from Simmons,  
'Not _Slither_ again. Watch a good sci-fi instead!'  
Coulson let out a short, ear splitting whistle. 'We are not going to be able to choose, let's just have a movie night. One each. Sound fair?' he offered. Everyone eventually agreed, and they produced a list.

_The Cabin in the Woods _(Ward)

_The Notebook _(Skye)

_Mulan _(Mae)

_Slither _(Fitz)

_Pitch Perfect _(Simmons)

_The Life of Brian _(Coulson)

_Catch Me if You Can _(Elizabeth)

They placed themselves around the room, Fitz, Simmons and Skye making use of the beanbags, May and Ward in armchairs and Elizabeth and Coulson sharing the sofa. Surprisingly Skye was the only one scared in the first movie, and she ended up hiding behind a fortress of pillows before Ward got down on the ground, to sit beside her. She cuddled up into his chest, and remained that way for the rest of the night. Skye, Simmons, Fitz and Elizabeth were silently crying in _The Notebook_, and she would have sworn she saw Coulson wipe away a tear. Everyone was singing along during _Mulan_, and also they discovered that May had an amazing voice, almost as good as Mulan's. Something that no-one would of guessed. Elizabeth fell asleep during the beginning of _Slither_, much to Fitz's annoyance. She had been sitting right next to Coulson, and when she drifted off, her head rested on his shoulder. He reacted by placing his arm around her, pulling her slightly closer. Simmons really belted it out in _Pitch Perfect_, having even memorised every word to the raps. Only when Elizabeth heard the deep chuckles from Coulsons' chest did she stir. As her eyes fluttered open, the first sight she was that of Graham Chapman's penis as he opened a window. 'What the hell are you watching?' she asked jokingly as she sat up. This caused Coulson to smile at her and take his arm from around her. They all sang along with the last song, 'Always look on the bright side of life.' complete with the whistle, making a ruckus, but there was no-one to stop them. By halfway through _Catch Me if You Can_, everyone was asleep, bar Elizabeth and Coulson. 'Why is this your favorite?'

'It's true.' she said simply, 'Based off a true story anyway.'  
'I didn't know that.'  
'Really? There was something you didn't know?'  
'Stop being a smart ass.' he chuckled.  
'Frank Abagnale. He was really cool in real life as well. Stole $3,400 from his Dad at 15.'  
'Impressive.'  
'Yeah.' she agreed absentmindedly. At the end credits, Coulson shut off the TV and they began slowly waking everyone on the Bus up. When Elizabeth got to May, she shook her shoulder gently and May came up fists flying. 'Don't wake Mae!' Coulson whispered too late. May's rock hard fist came into contact with Elizabeth's nose. Stepping away slowly, she felt blood trickle down her face. Coulson rushed to her side and picked her up when she almost fell back. He carried her to his office gently, her saying the whole time, 'I'm fine, you can put me down.' He placed her on the couch and told her to hold the bridge of her nose while he got a glass of water and some tissues. He wiped away the blood as it dripped down, sitting with her for the duration of it.  
'At least it's not broken.' he said,  
'Yeah. Thanks for the warning by the way.' she said sarcastically,  
'You always find a way to blame me.'  
'What can I say, it's a talent.' she deadpanned. Coulson smirked while standing up, and offered her a hand to help her up.  
'Oh, it's nine AM and we're leaving the Bus at midday. I'm going to sneak in a nap, I suggest you do the same. My sister is a bit exuberant from what I remember.'


End file.
